The receiving end of terrorism: Army Ranger recounts school shooting in his childhood

It was the second Monday of the eighth grade when terrorists came to my school and killed six people. They came with AKs, fully expecting to slaughter as many children as they could.

I was walking from a classroom to the library when the first shots went off. My initial thought was that someone was lighting off fireworks as it was a friend’s birthday, so I just sort of stopped and listened for a moment. Seconds later, a woman screamed. I had never heard a scream like that before, though in my adult life I would hear a few more.

About the Author

Luke Ryan is a SOFREP journalist in Tampa, FL. He is a former Team Leader from 3rd Ranger Battalion, having served four deployments to Afghanistan. He grew up overseas, the son of foreign aid workers, and lived in Pakistan for nine years and Thailand for five.
He has a degree in English Literature and also owns a small film production company, Gravitas Studios.

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Luke Ryan

It was less the attack on my school and more being exposed to the refugees flooding over in the 90s (from Afghanistan to Pakistan). Some of the stories they told were pretty horrific, add to that my country of origin just so happened to go to war with Afghanistan, add to that your usual young man's thirst for adventure, and my existing sense of patriotism... it was just a matter of time, really.

Micky M

Wow Luke! Glad you are still here to share this story. What a horrific event for anyone, especially a child. Thank you for sharing.

shooten

Excellent article and perspective. Thank you.

Cam A

Luke great story and thanks for sharing. Was that a pivot point for you or the time when you new you would be a Ranger someday?

Luke Ryan

They didn't make it to any of the children, thankfully. There were a lot of contributing factors, the main one being that our school was in the middle of a hollowed out cathedral (see the top picture). If you were to walk in there, it didn't look like a church at all. But they didn't know that, so they eventually moved past us.
And yes, Daniel Pearl was killed earlier that year. There was a slew of attacks actually, many of the kids at my school had just been in an attack at a church in Islamabad where terrorists walked in and through multiple grenades into the congregation.